Warmth!
by rese
Summary: Writer's block. Drabbles in a theme.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I'm so stuck with everything else so here's this. Much more like what I usually write out of the fandom. Can you tell I was cold?_

…

She woke to have her heart leap into her throat.

What was _that_?

A few seconds to quiet the beating of the organ as it slowly slid back to its normal place as recognition ticked in her brain.

Laurie.

Her fingers were tangled in his still ones and she could tell that they had cramped from their nightly stay in such an unfamiliar position. Gently she tugged their hands apart, tucking her own under her side to warm it up for the winter's air was far harsher than she recalled it ever being.

He's so warm.

She shuffled closer, mindful of his pillow as she heaped the blankets that had dragged down in sleep up above her shoulders until her head barely saw the cold light that was dreadfully early morning. Moving about proved to be less fruitful as the cocoon of body heat quickly vanished with her.

If I can just get close.

All those lectures from Marmee and all those talks with the hiking boys in town sprung into her groggy mind and she sought her lover's body quietly thanking science under her breath as she got closer and closer to her sleeping prize.

Oh thank God.

She hit the mass that was her husband and instantly let her hands crawl over his form, apathetic to her promise not to wake him.

Thank you thank you thank you.

She pushed her thin face against his chest and couldn't help the little sigh of delight at the sheer furnace Laurie was, even under his thick bedclothes. It was a simple hooked leg over his and a last wriggle for comfort and she had it!

Warmth.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: had to finish it off lololol. i can be immature at 12.43AM.

"Get off!" she moaned when Laurie plopped onto the bed beside her and promptly draped half of himself on her.

He made a small offended noise and rolled onto his back, turning his dark head to look at her through squinted eyes. She frowned but brushed his forehead free of his black hair which stuck all too uncomfortably to his skin.

Mine's the same.

He grinned widely and caught her hand before she could use it to brush the thick strands off the back of her own neck. He looked far too happy for someone who was living through the current whether, she decided and glowered at him some more. Or as much as she could do with half her face in the bed sheets.

"Too hot," she said shortly as he smiled some more and huffed what she supposed was a chuckle.

There's nothing funny about that.

It was uncomfortable, sticky, sweaty and entirely gross and she knew what Laurie had in mind would involve all those unpleasant adjectives too.

"Nu-uh."

I'm not even going to bother with speaking properly so what makes you think I'll be bothered with that?

Laurie rolled onto his front and she caught a whiff of him as he hooked a foot around hers at the other end of the bed.

Have you been _running_ in this heat?

There was a raise of his proud brows and she would have boxed him for that look if it hadn't been for the disgusting temperature and the heaviness of her exhausted body. Suddenly she felt a finger run up and down her back and she snapped her dozing eyes back to his incredibly bright ones.

"What if I do all the work?"

Subtle and unconvincing.

"Nu-uh."

But there was a sudden warmth that had nothing to do with the season.


	3. Chapter 3

Her hands were sweaty as she gripped the quill, making the page beneath her rested palm bend with the presence of moisture.

"Ugh," she groaned, feeling that the properties of the parchment were entirely unfair, this being the tenth one she'd ruined in a half hour. "For pity's sake."

"Muttering under our breath to ourselves are we?" A male voice from behind made Jo jump in her seat.

Turning around she cried clasping a hand to her heart, "Goodness! Are you trying to send me to an early grave!?" before giving him a good bat on the arm for his trouble and shuffling in her seat to continue writing.

"Well I'll just open the window to clear the stuffy air and your _head_, shall I?" Laurie asked whilst performing the action. It was a short struggle but he finally forced the little wooden panes to budge and he instantly took an exaggerated breath of the outside air, all the while knowing Jo was watching him.

He really was the most irritating and loveable neighbour, she decided, refocusing on her work before he caught her staring when he turned around with raised eyebrows. Jo felt rather than saw him move across towards her, kneeling beside her short seat to read over her shoulder.

"Do you mind?" she asked archly, pausing her scribbling to look at him in the corner of her eye. He really was terribly close.

"Oh!" Laurie scooted closer, draping his arm across the back of her chair and consequently trapping Jo between her desk and his large form. "Not at all, Jo! Thank you for asking though, very thoughtful…" he trailed off, eyeing her manuscript and trying very hard not to grin widely at the expression he guessed her to wear.

Jo took a few sharp breaths and decided that ignoring him would be the best way to continue. It was only twenty seconds later, or so she guessed that Laurie began clearing his throat in the loudest manner possible, leaning his head nearer to her ear as Jo struggled to maintain the curves of her 'g's and 'y's.

"Yes!?" she finally gave up, turning her head to find him looking back innocently, inches from her own frustrated face.

"Well, actually, would you mind moving your hand slightly? It's a little hard to read, Jo dear."

She thought she was going to break the nib in two.

"Teddy, go away."

And Jo turned around and continued writing, at a pace she hadn't done since the idea for the story had popped into her head three days ago. She was racing along merrily, pleased that her few harsh words had silenced her troublesome friend and that the speed wouldn't allow him to catch up when she was interrupted once more.

"My girl, you've spelt 'intimate' wrong. It's with an 'I' in the middle, not an 'e', see?" Laurie prodded the mistake not two sentences behind her present one, his hot breath in her ear.

"Listen!" Jo snapped, whirling about to face him again only to find he'd moved closer, if that was possible, which made her promptly turn red. His breath hit her cheek in warm waves as his eyes seemed to move at the slowest pace possible down her face to stop at her lips.

Why is he looking there? Jo wondered in a panic as he readjusted his hand from the page, somewhere behind her.

"See, I've fixed it for you!" He said once his hand had settled again and Jo looked at him in confusion for his eyes were still fixed upon her mouth. She looked behind her, not ready to completely let him off the hook again and saw the neat little line through her 'e' and the pointed 'I' that hovered above it on the right.

"Well! So you have!" Jo exclaimed, turning back to face him when she found his gaze by her neck. Ridiculously close to her neck. "Is it warm in here or is it just me?" she asked, bringing a hand up to cover where his stare lingered.

"You're skin is rather flushed," he noted seriously, prodding her shoulder with the arm that lay across her seat. "But then heat does rise," he said smiling, wriggling his brow and grinning at the shot of red that burned into Jo's face.

"Teddy!"

"What? We're in the garret!"


End file.
